PC3114: Is Application of Additional 3D Reconstruction Beneficial in Education of Pediatric Anatomy?

Background: Recently, 3D visualization (3DV) and 3D printing (3DP) have been actively applied to the anatomy education of medical students. However, there have not been many studies using the utility of 3D materials in the education of pediatric anatomy in the abdominal cavity. Therefore, we conducted this study to investigate the effect of additional education using 3DV and 3DP on 2D imaging in anatomical education of pediatric abdominal structures.

Methods: Computed tomography (CT) images of normal upper/lower abdomen, choledochal cyst, and imperforate anus were used for three-dimensional reconstruction of abdominal congenital anomalies and normal structures. After 3DV was created based on 2D image, 3DP was reconstructed. Using these tools, anatomical examinations were conducted on a total of 15 3rd grade medical students from October 1 to December 31, 2020.
Each student was tested 1:1 face-to-face for 4 sessions (normal upper abdomen, normal lower abdomen, choledochal cyst, imperforate anus). In each session, self-education through CT images was performed for 5 minutes, followed by anatomical examination. After that, the same process was performed sequentially for 3DV and 3DP. After completing the anatomy test, each student answered additional questionnaire.

Results: In all 4 sessions, the test scores of additional 3DV education increased significantly (P < 0.05). However, there was no significant increase in test scores when additional 3DP education was conducted after 3DV education. When comparing the difference in scores using each module, the educational effect through 3DV was the most significant in imperforate anus. As a result of the survey, there was no significant difference in the effectiveness, authenticity, usefulness, and overall satisfaction of anatomy education through 3D visualization and 3D printing.

Conclusion: It was confirmed that when 3DV was additionally performed for pediatric abdominal education using CT, there was a significant effect on understanding the anatomical structure. This study is the first study to confirm the effect of education using 3D materials for abdominal congenital diseases, and it can be applied by expanding the scope of anatomy education using 3D materials in the future.